Singapore Civil Servant Jailed in Sex-for-Contract Case

Peter Lim, Singapore’s former civil
defense chief, was sentenced to six months in jail for trying to
help a contractor win government business in exchange for sex.

Singapore subordinate court Judge Hamidah Ibrahim today
sentenced Lim to a month more in prison than prosecutors had
sought.

“The courts have consistently taken a firm, no-nonsense
approach in the sentencing of corruption offenses,” Hamidah
said. “With every public servant’s fall from grace, the
confidence in the public sector is affected.”

Lim, 52, was convicted May 31 of attempting to help a
woman’s company secure contracts after he accepted oral sex from
her in 2010. The former civil defense commissioner, who worked
with the agency for 25 years, had claimed during the trial that
the sexual encounter between two consenting “good friends”
didn’t influence his decisions in awarding business contracts.

The judge extended Lim’s S$15,000 ($12,000) bail after the
former civil servant’s lawyer Hamidul Haq said he would need
time to consider an appeal of the sentence.

Prosecutors took seven other charges against Lim involving
two other women into account in recommending a five-month jail
term. Two other charges against Lim were dropped.